


In our tent, after the war

by thehousethatfloats



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, Bow - Freeform, F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Season 5 Spoilers, after the war, catra - Freeform, mentions of other characters only, post-s5, snuggles, wrong hordak - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:02:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24537412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thehousethatfloats/pseuds/thehousethatfloats
Summary: Started as an angsty Drabble and got considerably longer and fluffier.Entrapta and Hordak wake up in their tent, on the edge of the Imperial camp, the morning after the final battle with Prime. Angst and fluff ensues.
Relationships: Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra)
Comments: 32
Kudos: 267





	In our tent, after the war

**Author's Note:**

> Hey hey! I’ve never written for these characters before, or for She-ra in general. But I had this little headcanon and I wanted to write it down - my writing mojo has been missing for some months and I’m happy to report that these science nerds have returned it to me! 
> 
> Forgive me if anything is OOC. Like I said these guys are new territory to me and they are both quite tricky to write! But I hope I’ve done them justice.
> 
> As for any potential triggers - there’s obviously going to be a bit of discussion of abuse, there are some questionable moments of inner dialogue because these characters have plenty of issues with their own self image and self worth. I don’t think there’s anything too heavy, though.

Hordak woke to the sound of birdsong. It was incredibly disconcerting.

For one long, horrible moment, he did not know where he was. His prison was soft and warm and entirely alien. The world around him blinked into bleary focus and he found traces of familiarity but nothing solid enough to anchor him in any kind of recognisable present.

All he saw was white above him, and all around him... but he was not on Horde Prime’s ship, he could not be. Prime was gone, this he knew. He couldn’t remember how or why but he remembered that his god had cast him out and cursed his name and forsaken him forever... and now he was gone. An icy cold fear flooded his veins, and he focussed instead on the whiteness. No, this could not be Prime’s ship. This pale vision was a different shade, a different texture, and beyond the white the soft warm glow of an approaching dawn grew closer.

The birdsong was unfamiliar too. It took the place of the absent humming of the hive mind. He could not connect with these wordless chirps and twitterings, but they didn’t seem to care. The birds continued to sing and remind him that he was not a part of their song. He was disconnected. Abandoned. Forsaken. Alone. In a world filled with light, he could only know darkness.

He was in pain. He ached, everywhere. He’d almost forgotten what that was like. His failing body had been pumped so full of chemicals and poisons over the past year that he had all but lost the ability to feel anything at all.

Except... he had felt something. He remembered it even now. Even when he had no discernible conscious thoughts in his head, he had felt something. His body was numb, but this had been a different kind of pain. An emptiness that struck his weakened, straining heart, and tore at him from the inside. A yearning, unending sadness, the kind that only came from knowing something truly good and losing it forever.

In the cold light of the morning, he felt it again. It coiled in his chest and tightened there, strangling the last traces of hope from him and aching more than all the failing joints and torn muscles of his defective body.

He was lost. He was alone. He was unwanted and unloved. He was broken and no one would ever put him together again.

Then the world around him shifted. The softness moved and a flash of lavender crossed his bleary peripheral. He stiffened though his joints throbbed in protest.

‘...Hordak?’ A sleepy voice enquired, cutting through the discomfort like a knife through butter. He knew this voice. He yearned for it, dreamt of it, clung to it in the very deepest part of his subconscious even when he couldn’t hear his own any more.

Entrapta.

A million memories flooded his consciousness. A battle. A victory. Arms wrapping around his waist and spinning him around a hillside. Before that... Pain. Violation. An invasion of body, mind and soul. His claws wrapping around the delicate neck of the only being that mattered. Taunting. Laughter. Cruelty. Agony. Betrayal... abandonment. What was real? What was now? Anger and grief, rage and desperation. Beast Island...  _ Beast Island _ . She had been sent to Beast Island to die. How had she survived? How had he survived without her? She couldn’t be with him now, this couldn’t be real. The pain was unbearable, he couldn’t stand to remember it. He longed for blissful ignorance, for emptiness, for nothingness. A burning pool of ice cold liquid, acid green and unending, searing away memories and replacing them with nothing but clean, uncomplicated agony.

‘Hordak,’ the voice came again, clearer and more insistent, but somehow far away. He almost didn’t want to hear it, he didn’t want to let himself believe it, only to feel the pain of losing her again. He recalled now the dreams that haunted him as he slumbered in stasis, torturing him with memories he lost immediately upon waking. He had stopped taking rest. It was easier that way.

‘ _ Hordak _ ,’ again. And again. Something soft but firm encircled his face, moving his head gently yet insistently. He closed his eyes in a bid to escape reality, but the horrors in his mind were a thousand times worse. His eyes flew open again and in the vice like grip of prehensile hair, he struggled to find something to cling to. The world was hazy still, blurred for some reason, and only when he felt a delicate brush against his cheek did he realise that perhaps his vision was marred by his own treacherous tears. He blinked them away, breathing hard as he tried to focus on the two sparkling rubies in front of him. Her eyes, he had to find the light in her eyes. He had to see her.

‘You’re with me.’ Entrapta spoke directly to him, her magenta gaze locking intently with his, though she could tell he wasn’t really seeing her yet. She seemed able to speak directly to the soul he didn’t even know he had. ‘You’re safe. Horde Prime is gone and you’re free now.’ Her features finally settled into focus and he could see her, just her, finally. When she saw the light of recognition return to his eyes, her lips curved into a soft smile. The strong lilac locks that held his face brushed more tears from his cheekbones and soothed him as she spoke. ‘Hordak, everything is going to be okay.’

He wanted so badly to believe her. But she couldn’t know - he’d done so much wrong. He’d caused so much pain. And he’d done it all for the desperate love of his brother who had rejected him and everything he’d fought so hard to achieve.

‘When have I ever lied to you?’ It was like she could read his mind. Little did he know, his fears were written all over his face, plain as day. Entrapta might have needed her decoder to translate First Ones writings but she needed no such cipher for him.

‘Never,’ he admitted, his own voice sounding rough and far away. She had never lied to him. She had been taken from him, and he had thought her lost forever, only here they were, together again. Together at last - for they had never been quite like this before. He swallowed heavily and tried to force the lump of emotion that stuck in his throat, but he couldn’t shift it. He hoped she would not make him speak again. He didn’t think he could without making an utter fool of himself.

Her hair held him in place, securing him to her, grounding him to the present, doing everything she could to keep him from stumbling back into his memories again. He didn’t realise she’d removed her gloves until he felt the warmth of her palms on his bare chest, resting over his heart. A heart that beat so fast, and now, only for her. At the touch of her pure skin on his disfigured form, he began to tremble.

‘It’s okay,’ she said again, quieter. There were tears in her eyes, and he thought for a moment what a pitiful sight he must be. He was without his armour, weakened and defective once again. How could she look upon him with anything but disappointment and disgust? But she did, somehow she always did, and she kept looking. She kept smiling. And now she kept her hands over his heart. ‘You don’t have to keep everything inside you anymore Hordak,’ she urged him. ‘You can let it out. I’m here, I’m not going anywhere. Whatever happens, I’m here. Because we’re partners, remember?’

He didn’t know if it was the explicit permission to fall apart that finally tipped him over the edge, or if that outcome had always been inevitable from the moment he woke. Either way, he was helpless to stop the shudder of his shoulders and the tears that spilled down his gaunt cheeks, as the reality of her words began to sink in.  


Entrapta lifted herself slightly from her place beside him on the makeshift cot and carefully wrapped her arms around him, pulling his head to rest against the soft warmth of her breast with one hand cradling the back of his head, while the other traced soothing circles on his back. He clung to her, sinking into her embrace and sobbing against her fabric of her undershirt, he did his best to muffle the sound but the more he tried, the harder he cried. 

Entrapta held him close as every agonising moment of his life replayed over and over, and whatever words he sought to utter were lost to a seemingly unending flow of guttural, heart-wrenching moans that merged with his sobs and drowned out all hopes of decorum. 

He had never once let himself  feel like this, and he was beginning to realise why. Once it began, he couldn’t stop it. But through it all, Entrapta was there, holding him close with her hands and her hair, her soft lips resting gently against his skull, murmuring wordless promises of soothing comfort as he cried himself out in her arms. 

Later, much later, the tide finally began to subside and, through strained and stuttering breaths, Hordak fought to regain his senses. Entrapta didn’t fully relinquish her hold on him, but as he grew quieter, she loosened her grasp, leaning just slightly back from him, enough to be able to see his face. His eyes were tinged with red, and it gave her a little thrill to see, despite the circumstances. His face was flushed too, and his reddening eyes could not quite meet her gaze. 

‘Forgive me.’ He said at last, his voice raw. ‘That was...’  _ Mortifying? Humiliating? Loud enough to wake the dead? _ ‘...Unseemly.’ 

Entrapta grinned, running her fingers through his now white hair. That sounded just like something her lab partner would say. ‘I didn’t mind,’ she assured him. He met her eyes at last and saw nothing but open, honest acceptance there; something he’d only ever seen from her.

His attention was caught by the fluttering of fabric overhead, and he frowned at the pale ceiling above them.

‘Entrapta, where are we?’ It was perhaps not the strangest thing about this situation, but he had absolutely no memory of getting to wherever they were.

Entrapta chuckled, reaching up with her hair to adjust the fabric ties above their heads. ‘We’re in a tent. On the edge of the Rebellion’s camp... well, they’re calling it the Imperial camp now I think. There’s no need for a Rebellion any more, I guess.’

Hordak nodded, flashes of recollection returning to him from the day before. He remembered a hillside, She-Ra... Adora. And then, with a slight smile, he remembered stumbling back under the weight of Entrapta who had hurled herself at him then, and still hadn’t let go.

He remembered her talking, and talking and talking, and taking his arm and walking, leading him somewhere. His memory faltered for almost everything but the sound of her voice. She had done most of the speaking, which was not unusual for them. He recalled many of the general topics... her takedown of the hive mind... a first one’s ship on which she had travelled to space... her time on Beast Island... he struggled to focus on specifics and he hated himself for it. He never wanted to forget anything about her, never again. Not a single word.

‘Hordak,’ her voice called him back, and this time he found it easier to return.

He shook his head slightly, as though shaking off cobwebs in his mind. Entrapta waited patiently until his gaze met hers again.

‘At a later point, it may be beneficial to go back over the details of topics we discussed yesterday,’ he admitted. ‘My memory is behaving... somewhat erratically.’

Entrapta nodded enthusiastically, looking frankly delighted. ‘Of course! There was a lot going on. And besides, we didn’t even have time to scrape the surface of my discoveries! When we get home, I want to go over all of my notes and recordings - first from Darla, of course, but then also I know that there is so much more to learn from the systems left behind on Prime’s ship! There’s so much to discover about the hive, and connective capabilities of the network. Not to mention portal tech, although thinking about it we should probably leave that alone for a while. Some people might be sensitive about it.’ Entrapta paused in her rambling when she caught the look on Hordak’s face. She frowned, quickly running back over her words in her mind. ‘What? What did I say wrong?’

Hordak opened his mouth to correct her as he often had in the past - he hated when she assumed she must have done or said something wrong. He hated the world that had made her think that way.

But in that moment, he couldn’t get his thoughts in line past that one sentence. ‘When we get... home?’ The words sounded wrong, but the warm feeling in the pit of his stomach that accompanied them felt so right. Entrapta, meanwhile, looked surprised.

‘Oh! Yes. To Dryl! Well... it’s my home. And it can be your home too, if that’s what you wanted. Ah...’ She seemed suddenly annoyed with herself. ‘I talked to Glimmer and Bow and Adora all about it last night and I guess I forgot that I had to talk to you too. It’s just that the Fright Zone... well it isn’t going to be the Fright Zone any more. It’s Scorpia’s kingdom technically... and the Horde is kinda scattered and it’s going to take some work to figure everything out but I was just - well I wanted to make sure that nobody was going to try and take you away. So I talked to Glimmer and she said there was a lot to discuss but that also so long as we stayed in regular contact with Brightmoon it would be okay for us to go home to Dryl for a little while. I’m sorry, I got a little ahead of myself there. Again.’

‘When did this discussion take place?’ Hordak’s brow furrowed, as he sought through the events of the previous day and tried to find a trace of talk around his future. He’d been actively not thinking about it. He’d assumed there would be penance to pay, execution even or exile at the very least. He recalled some awkward exchanges with Adora and Catra, but little else.

‘Oh!’ Entrapta’s voice shook him from his reverie once more. ‘It happened last night. By the fire.’ Ah, he remembered a fire. He remembered sitting with Entrapta there, watching the Etherians wonder at the stars, and warm themselves by the flames. He remembered her gloves hand in his, holding him close to her side. ‘You had fallen asleep by that point I think...’ she continued. ‘I mean, you definitely were not conscious. And afterwards I carried you here so that you could get some proper rest.’

‘You carried me here?’ His voice raised a tone or two. It was one thing to be so pathetic in front of Entrapta, it was quite another to be in front of the whole of Etheria. But Entrapta didn’t seem all that concerned.

‘Yeah! Well, mainly me. There weren’t many people around, don’t worry. And Bow helped a little - well, he tried. He held the door open.’ She grinned at the memory of a well meant gesture that wholly missed the mark, which was ironic considering Bow’s skills as an archer.

Hordak was still frowning, waiting for all this to make sense. Entrapta obliged.

‘Bow, he’s the one with the exploding arrows, remember? He’s nice. You’ll like him, he’s really quite intelligent. He helped finish hacking into Prime’s network, when I was taken onto the ship.’

Hordak did not recognise the sensations that momentarily overwhelmed him. It was oddly reminiscent of the feeling that struck his heart when hearing false reports of her betrayal, but not quite so intense. He certainly didn’t feel the need to destroy anything this time. He didn’t feel the prickle of tears burning behind his eyes. But he did feel a tightness in his chest, a kind of constriction around his heart. He felt his face grow warm, and he panicked when he realised that meant the pallor of his skin was probably changing colour too. He cursed the way that his body betrayed him around Entrapta in a way it never had before her. 

She looked confused as he stiffened and shifted on the bed, pushing himself toward a seated position. The penny dropped for Entrapta just as he let out a grunt of discomfort, coming to rest against the low headboard of the cot, hissing a slow breath of release through his teeth.

‘You’re in pain,’ Entrapta surmised, her hair launching her from the bed with ease so she could hover over him. For the first time he realised that not only were they in bed together, but they were in something of a state of undress too. Entrapta acted as though there was nothing unusual about her examining him while wearing nothing but her undershirt and panties. And he supposed she had seen the worst of his wasted body before. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the white robes of a horde clone, folded neatly on the floor of the tent, and in a flash of memory he recalled a sudden need to be rid of such vestments last night. He remembered Entrapta helping him remove his clothes, and helping him into bed. He didn’t remember her removing her own. He certainly would have remembered that, had he been awake for it.

‘I thought so,’ her hair poked and prodded at him, moving his limbs about carefully but firmly, just as she had back when they were lab partners in the Fright Zone. ‘Your muscle mass has atrophied significantly even since I last examined you what... six, seven hours ago?’ Hordak flinched and it did not go unnoticed, but Entrapta didn’t pause. ‘I wonder what Prime did to you to stem the progression of your muscular degeneration? The armour is purely aesthetic, I checked.’

‘All must suffer to become pure...’ Hordak mused, unable to resist the visions of an acid green pool and white hot, searing pain. Entrapta’s face fell, and she worried her bottom lip in her teeth. She hadn’t meant to make him relive this again. But this time, he managed to pull himself out of it. ‘I can only imagine that Prime wanted to punish me for my actions on Etheria by keeping me alive. My body is as defective as it has always been, but on his ship... he did something to keep me functioning. I remember... some kind of intravenous solution. A growth hormone or steroid, perhaps. Without it, I am returned to the same sorry state he found me in, minus the very prominent benefits of the armour you created.’

‘Well, maybe if we go back to the ship we can find more data. Medical records or something. In fact, I’m sure there is a way we could use Darla’s long range scanner system to-‘

‘No.’ Hordak interrupted.

‘No?’ She quirked an eyebrow in query.

His shoulders slumped slightly, and he shuddered. ‘I do not wish... to return to that place. Not now. And whatever Prime did to me, I do not wish to revisit it. I would prefer to remain... imperfect... than live in his image again.’

Entrapta smiled, and he looked up to find himself staring right into her sparkling eyes.

‘Hordak,’ she began, a grin tugging at the corner of her mouth.

‘Yes?’ He replied, almost warily. It turned out to be entirely founded because she immediately proceeded to launch herself at him, her hair carefully controlling her velocity and ensuring she did not hurt him as her arms wound around his narrow shoulders.

‘I’m so proud of you.’

He wanted to object, to brush off her ill placed sentiment. But he found after it all that he didn’t have the energy, and actually, after a few moments in her embrace - conscious for it this time - he felt his fears melting away. Tentatively his arms lifted to fold around her small body, and his clawed hands rested lightly on the smooth, cotton covered curve of her back.

‘You know,’ she said, as her hair coiled around them both, serving both as a support for her, to keep her full body weight off of him and as an anchor for him, easing the pressure on his aching joints as he rested against the bed frame. ‘I found so much more First Ones tech on Beast Island. I can build you some new armour! Even better than the last version.’

‘I have no doubt that you can,’ Hordak agreed.

‘And maybe Bow could help out, an extra pair of hands you know? He was so helpful to me and my work in space.’ She was still hugging him, her face nuzzled into the crook of his neck, so he couldn’t see the mischievous glint in her eye.

Hordak found he could not speak. Perhaps that was a blessing. However, he also could not stop a rather primal growl beginning to rumble deep in his chest.

‘Aha! I knew it.’ Entrapta pulled back, levelling her face with his. She booped his nose ridge affectionately, which did nothing to reduce the frown creasing across his brow. ‘That was an experiment. A test! And I’m sorry, but you failed it horribly. You don’t need to be jealous of Bow! Hordak... you must know you’re my only lab partner!’

‘I am not  jealous .’ Hordak grumbled, but at the same time, he felt an enormous weight lift from his shoulders. He realised then that he’d never known a world in which he had to share Entrapta with anyone. He didn’t like that idea much, not at all.

‘I mean, Bow’s great and everything.’ Entrapta continued, seemingly lost in her own train of thought now. A rope of purple hair moved to tap at her chin as she mused. ‘I guess he could be a useful assistant. He does know quite a lot about Horde technology now.’

‘Entrapta,’ Hordak prompted. She jumped, and then obviously remembered why she’d started down this path in the first place. She let out a quick burst of nervous laughter, before refocusing on the matter at hand. Her hair encircled his wrists and arms one again, giving him a little squeeze.

‘But he’s not you!’ She declared emphatically. ‘No one is you, Hordak.’ 

There seemed to be a small war going on inside him. Her words made his heart swell, and filled him with a lightness that he’d only ever felt in her presence. That he might know this feeling each and every day, living free and out of the shadow of Horde Prime, kindled a small flickering flame of hope that he’d never have dared to dream of before. And yet, he knew that he was not worthy of it. Despite the warmth that filled his heart, his face still settled into something of a scowl as his own self doubt soldiers overwhelmed the peaceful forces of her words. 

Entrapta could see he was deliberating on something. She may not have known exactly what it was, but she was never one to need all the answers all at once. Experimentation was half the fun. ‘I’ve missed you so much. Even when you’re being grumpy.’ 

‘I am not grumpy!’

‘This is the part where you’re supposed to tell me you missed me too.’

What had been intended as a playful exchange, drew dark clouds over Hordak once again. Entrapta frowned, concern written all over her face, but she didn’t press him. She sat back and waited for him to elaborate.

‘I was... so angry, when I thought you had left. A betrayal from you was the worst possible betrayal I could have known. And I am angry at myself, even now, for believing it. I should have trusted in you, in our... partnership.’

‘Why didn’t you?’

‘Because I was a wretched fool.’

‘Hordak...’

‘It was easier to believe that you would want to return to your own kind than stay at my side,’ he admitted, looking down at his hands.

‘Why?’

‘Because I am unworthy of your affection.’

‘Hordak...’ Entrapta seemed to melt toward him, cresting on the wave of her own hair until she hovered directly in front of him. ‘You are the  most worthy... I mean, you’re the only person I’ve ever...’ she paused for a moment, attempting to gather her thoughts into a meaningful sentence, clear and concise. ‘No one has ever understood me like you do. They... they all think I’m weird and I make them uncomfortable, even when I’m trying so hard not to. I feel like I make sense to you, and I don’t feel that with anyone else.

Hordak felt that same growl building again. ‘Their ignorance, and the limitations of their simple, underdeveloped minds, should not be your concern. You are magnificent, and I missed you even when I didn’t know I had anything at all to miss.’ 

When Entrapta smiled it was small and a little bit sad, but it lasted such a short time that anyone but Hordak might have missed it. Her eyes lit up, and her smile grew wide, her hands curling into fists and coming to clench against her sides in barely contained excitement.

‘So... do you want to come back to Dryl with me?’

Hordak blinked in astonishment. From the moment she’d mentioned it, he’d thought that it was a given. If she wanted him with her, he would be there. He would follow her anywhere she asked, and so he told her just that.

Entrapta beamed. ‘Oh, we’re going to have so much fun! Just think of all the discoveries we’ll make - we can work on our experiments as long as we like, without interruptions. And with all this new tech to explore, and the whole of SPACE too... ah! We could work together for the rest of our natural lives and still have more to discover. But that’s an experiment for another day.’

‘I would happily spend the rest of my life at your side.’

‘Good. Then let’s get dressed and get started! Oh, I want to show you Darla! She’s full of all sorts of First Ones tech. I can start on your new exoskeleton right away! I know you like armour, but it’s not all that convenient for manoeuvrability or dexterity. Oh, maybe I could create some kind of fascial sheath or webbing of some kind. The possibilities are endless now we have so much to work with!’ 

She was getting over-excited again, so much so that she had started toward the door of the tent. Hordak watched with amusement, clearing his throat a moment before she reached the door and making her pause.

‘Is something wrong?’ She asked, frowning at him. He was still sitting on the edge of the cot. 

‘Keen as I am to begin working with you once more, it may be prudent to put some more clothes on first.’ Entrapta looked down at herself, seeming to notice her state of undress for the first time since she’d been so focussed on him and their conversations.

‘Oh! Right. Good idea!’ Her hair retrieved her overalls and she stepped into them with ease, while simultaneously wriggling into her over shirt and gloves. Hordak found himself missing the expanse of exposed smooth brown skin, he’d very much enjoyed its warmth and softness pressed against him. So lost was he in such thoughts that he barely noticed her holding out his own clothes until he felt the stiff white fabric brush his skin. He looked down at the tabard and underclothes and sighed. Entrapta wasted no time in addressing his distaste.

‘Only for today. I haven’t had time to find any alternative fabrics but I know where I can get some and I can make you something else to wear when we’re done with the preliminary exoskeleton work. Aaaaaaand I’ve been thinking about hair dye as well. Did you want to go back to your old dark blue? Because I found some indigo dye - I mean it might be ink - but it should do well enough. It’s totally up to you though, you can look however you like! Oh, we can experiment with colour schemes and textiles and work up several options. You don’t even have to wear the same thing every day!’

Hordak let her chatter wash over him as he changed carefully into the uniform of a horde clone once more. He felt like every item stripped away a part of his true self and he hated it, but Entrapta was quite right and he didn’t have any other options at present. He could hardly march out of her tent naked.

He eased himself upright, gritting his teeth through the pain as his muscles and joints screamed at him for respite. He closed his eyes for a moment, in a bid to get his nerves under control, when he felt a sudden weight around his neck, and resting on his chest. He opened his eyes and looked down to find Entrapta adjusting the position of the First Ones Crystal that had powered his old armour. In all that had happened the previous day, he’d lost track of it, and though it’s loss had pained him, it had been significantly lessened by the fact that he now had Entrapta back by his side. She must have found it, tucked it away in one of her many pockets perhaps, and now she had fashioned some kind of clasp and delicate string around it. On closer inspection, he realised the string was made from closely woven threads of her own lavender hair.

She noticed him gently fingering the threads and a slight blush covered her cheeks. ‘I didn’t have anything else to work with, I hope this is okay. We can fix it back into your new exoskeleton if you like! It should have more than sufficient power. But for now I thought you might like to wear it like this.’ Her gloved hands rested on his chest either side of the Crystal, and he brought his own hands to hover there over hers - pausing and waiting for her minute nod of approval before he covered them with his own.

‘Thank you,’ Hordak said, sincerely. For the Crystal, for her patience, and for so much more.

Entrapta grinned. ‘You’re welcome!’ She leaned in toward him and before he could even fathom what she was doing, her soft lips brushed against his cheekbone. She pulled away with sparkling eyes, and before he could react she was half way across the tent, heading toward the door. 

‘Now come on, we want to get started on your exoskeleton before everyone else starts waking up and wanting to talk and stuff. And I promised Wrong Hordak I’d help him with his attempts to help the other clones assimilate to their new environment and free will. It’s gonna be a big day!’

Hordak hadn’t quite worked out how to start breathing again yet. His flesh seemed to burn where her lips had touched, though it was not unpleasant, not at all. He’d never considered his skin capable of  tingling but that was the only term he could think of. He very much wanted to know this sensation again.

It was perhaps three, maybe four seconds before his brain caught up with his twitching ears.

‘You promised  _ who _ ... and...  _what?_ ’  He exclaimed, suddenly finding his ability to move again, and with urgency. Outside the tent Entrapta just cackled gleefully, and despite the absolute horror of what she had just said, he couldn’t stop the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth, an automatic response to the sound of her unbridled mirth.

And that’s how he stepped out of the ramshackle tent and into his new life on Etheria, in pursuit of Entrapta with a smile on his face.

There would be plenty more demons to face, but they would face them together. 

**Author's Note:**

> Aaaaaand there you have it! My first foray into Etheria... so please be kind. I am very interested to explore the levels of intimacy between these two fascinating characters. I know there’s a lot more to unpack between them than I have done here. I might write more related stories, who knows! But for now this will live as a one shot. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
